An AI startup run by former Google employees has approached $300 million+ in revenue in a year: Yoodli. It helps people, not replaces them.

Yoodli , a startup founded by former Google employees, has reached a valuation of over $300 million, tripling its value in just six months, thanks to an approach to AI that assists people rather than displacing them. The startup creates technologies to develop communication skills, focusing on supporting people rather than replacing them with machines.

The valuation increase was made possible by the closing of a $40 million Series B round led by WestBridge Capital with participation from Neotribe and Madrona. Previously, in May, the company announced it had raised $13.7 million in a Series A round . The total investment is approaching $60 million.

Amid the rapid adoption of AI and the associated concerns, Yoodli is taking a different approach. Founded four years ago in Seattle, the company uses AI to simulate real-world scenarios—from sales and leadership coaching to interviews and complex discussions. Users receive structured, repeatable practice that helps build confidence and improve verbal skills.

Varun Puri, formerly of Google X, co-founded Yoodli with former Apple engineer Esha Joshi in 2021. Puri notes that he became aware of the communication challenge when he came to the US at 18 and saw how difficulties expressing thoughts affected students and young professionals from countries like India, including himself.

The service was initially conceived as a tool for practicing public speaking—a skill that, according to the company's internal data, two out of three people struggle with. However, over time, users began using the platform to prepare for interviews, presentations, and complex negotiations. This gradually led to the product's transformation from a consumer app to an enterprise solution that provides role-playing exercises and practical training tools for sales skills development, partner certification, and management coaching. Puri notes that traditional training methods—lengthy static materials or video courses that many people watch at high speed—rarely lead to real skill acquisition.

Yoodli's clients include Google, Snowflake, Databricks, RingCentral, and Sandler Sales. The platform is also used by coaching companies like Franklin Covey and LHH, which can adapt the system to their methodologies. Puri emphasizes that the tool doesn't replace a human coach: it merely helps "take skills from zero to eight or nine," while authentic individuality, vulnerability, and authenticity require human feedback.

The platform works with several major language models, allowing users to choose, for example, between Google Gemini and OpenAI GPT. Enterprise clients can embed Yoodli in their own software, while users can run it through a browser. The AI ​​supports most popular languages, including Korean, Japanese, French, Canadian French, and a number of Indian languages.

Yoodli doesn't offer a separate mobile app—according to Puri, this avoids unnecessary user interactions during training. The company doesn't disclose its user count, but notes that the majority of revenue now comes from the enterprise segment. Between the Series A and B rounds, the number of role-playing scenarios conducted on the platform and the total training time increased by approximately 50%. Over the past twelve months, the startup has grown its average annual recurring revenue by 900%, but doesn't provide specific figures.

Yoodli hadn't planned a new round, but strong investor interest prompted action. WestBridge once again led the funding. Puri attributes the investors' attention to strong metrics, key clients, and strategic appointments: Josh Vitello (CRO), Andy Larson (CFO), and Padmashree Koneti (CPO).

The market for AI communication tools is growing rapidly, but Puri says Yoodli stands out for its deep customization and focus on specific learning areas, allowing companies to tailor the platform to their specific learning scenarios, methods, and approaches.

Today, Yoodli employs approximately 40 people at its Seattle headquarters and other offices. The company will use the investment to develop AI coaching, analytics, and personalization, expand corporate training, and expand professional development. Yoodli also plans to aggressively hire product, AI research, and customer success specialists, expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and strengthen its position in the US market.